Eternal Love and Paws
A message of hope delivered through the soft paws of a cat
I was desperate to hear from her, to know that she was okay. My eyelids were so heavy and sore from crying all day that I could barely keep them open. I crawled into bed, curled up into the fetal position and silently wished for some kind of sign to let me know all her suffering had been shed, all of her pain had not been in vain, and she was finally, truly at peace.
Within minutes of asking for a sign from my recently-deceased grandmother, my cat climbed into bed with me. That was nothing new; she often liked to cuddle up next to me when I was sleeping, and seemed to relish startling my half-asleep body if I rolled over on her accidentally.
But this time was different. My kitty positioned herself on the pillow next to mine, facing me straight on, and gently placed her paw on my cheek in comfort. She stroked my cheek as if she knew exactly what I needed. And somehow I knew exactly what my cat’s strange behavior meant. This was confirmation that my grandmother was indeed okay, and everyone who loved and missed her so much would be too — and she delivered her message of hope in the best way possible, through the soft paws of a cat.
My fur baby and I fell asleep in that position, engulfed and basking in the love only a grandmother, and…